Reach The Stars, Capture The Rain
by DarkJisushiku
Summary: Count D meets a bleeding child in the rain... She's scared and cold... What will the count do? What will he tell her? Will she allow him to take her to the hospital? [one-shot] [R&R!]


**Title: Reach The Stars, Capture The Rain**

**Rating: PG-13**

**Disclaimer:** I don't own anything/one having to do with the Petshop of the Horrors.

**Author's Notes: **Please, review.

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It is odd how some still find starlight in the city. Quite a curious thought to too many of the outsiders. They see the smog, the drugs, the gangs, the gunfire... And yet, in turn, too many of the insiders can't understand how anyone can_ not_ see the starlight. Especially, when the most brilliant star conceals Chinatown in her rich gaze... 

xoxox

_Pitter-patter. Pitter-patter. Pitter-patter._

Graying eyes slitted open, as the shivering child surveyed her dreary surroundings. Deep auburn hair curled down her long face, as crimson blood ran down the right side of her face. She was hiding in between a dumpster and an abandoned crate. Her right arm was clutched in her left, knees held to her chin. Her pale bottom lip quivered, as the blood dripped down with the rain...

xoxox

_Pitter-patter. Pitter-patter. Pitter-patter._

The rain was odd in Chinatown, just like the starlight. It shimmered and gleamed like a thousand falling diamonds, yet it was unattainable. Just like the stars. No mortal could ever reach the stars, yet they seemed like riches. It was a childish game the reigning deity played; he would tease mankind with wonders that they could never hold, never reach...

"Or so humans are inclined to believe," a sharp, yet soothing voice whispered to the shivering child.

"_-ah-!"_ gasped the hoarse voice of the bleeding girl, as her head jolted up. The silhouette of a slim gentleman with long, thin hair overshadowed her. _What does he mean?_ she thought as the blood dripped down with the rain...

xoxox

"About the stars, the rain," the man finally explained an half hour later. He had kneeled across from the girl, sitting in an unbreakable silence.

The girl nodded naively, not understanding about the man's words. All she understood was the searing pain that was crawling up her arm. Her auburn hair was slack, rich bangs covering her eyes and her wounds.

"Humans," the man continued, "tend to think that the stars are out of reach; that the rain is too slippery to catch."

The girl nodded... or, at least, she thought she did. She couldn't feel her face anymore. And her hand's pain was engulfing her body. _Along with the shivering..._ She just _couldn't_ stop the shivering. And the blood dripped down with the rain...

xoxox

The girl's head lolled to the side, and the blood mingled with the dumpter's grim. Her knees unfolded from her curled body in a jagged manner. The blood danced with her sweat, as her dark, aged eyes began to close.

"But that is just a myth."

She jumped slightly at the feel of such cool skin, as the man stroked her flushed cheeks. Long, cold nails grazed her, tracing invisible scars of possession on the broken child. A shaking left hand weakly grasped the foreign hand of soft flesh on her cheek. The man didn't remove her touch.

Feathery raven hairs tickled the nape of her neck. Glossed lips came close to her right ear. A breath of warm air caressed her, as her shivering became worse. "The stars can be reached - the rain can be captured, _if_... you know how to _gain_ such treasures."

Her heavy head rolled on to the man's shoulder. _This warmth, _she thought. _This warmth is all I ever want to know... Please, keep me warm... tonight... _She let out a moan, as her blood dripped down with the rain...

xoxox

"Do you want to go to the hospital?" the man asked gently, as tender arms curled around her. "Or are you too scared to attempt to recover?"

"..waa..rr...m...th..."

His nimble legs pulled them steadily up, as the child hid in his warm embrace. Her blood was still dripping down her face, yet this was the first time in the last hour that he had offered to help. Graying, worn eyes were closed and her breath was gasping.

"It truly is sad...," the man commented as he carried her away to a local, mysterious shop. "An abusive care has broken your courage... Now, even the things that could save your life, you fear the most."

"...st...rr...s... rai...ne..."

"Yes, tonight I shall help you touch the stars and hold the rain." The man nodded silently. "Yes, I shall tell you how to attain such treasures, while we wait for an ambulance."

And her blood dripped down with the rain.

xoxox

"D! D!" yelled a brutish voice as the sound of sopping tennies skidded down the hospital's halls. A blonde man with fiery eyes screeched into one of the private rooms. An auburn-haired girl laid covered in bandages on the bed. Lingering beside her was a tall, elegant man of Chinese decent. His richly designed robes held the shadows of blood. "What the hell is going on here! The chief just told Jill to put out an APB on an alcoholic and that he had nearly killed some brat that _you_ took to the hospital!"

"Yes, that 'brat' is here," the man said monotonously, gesturing towards the girl. "And I am the one who took her here."

"Wait - then that means - COUNT, WHAT DID YOU FREAKIN' SELL HER?" stormed the man, his canines bearing in a barbaric manner.

The count silenced the man with a gentle hand, whispering vaguely, "I did not sell her anything, my dear detective."

"Then why the hell did you bring her here to the hospital?" roared the police officer, shaking his fists.

"Because she was bleeding."

"WELL-!"

"But," interrupted the Chinese man, fingering some of the lifeless auburn strands, "I'm afraid that I was too late."

The officer looked towards the machine that was monitoring the girl's heart. The line that indicated how she was down suddenly went flat.

_**BEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEP.**_

... as her blood dripped down with the rain.

xoxox

The two men stood in the hospital court yard, the American smoking a burnt-out cigarette and the Chinese politely nibbling on a vending-machine cookie. The smog from the city veiled the night skies, aging the stars beyond their time. A silvery drizzle of a dying rain curled around their figures.

"...damn," the blonde finally said in a hushed tone. "Count, how did you know?" His blue eyes had matured slightly in the night's times. But untrained eyes wouldn't have seen it.

"Hm?" mused the count, peering into the depths of the murky skies.

"D, you know what I'm talking about!" snapped the officer. "About the alcoholic, how did you know that's who had hurt her?"

"Hm."

His veins bulged impatiently. "Damnit, D, is that all you can say -?"

"- she smelled of hard liqueur," explained the dark man, "and her eyes looked betrayed. I asked her about the scent as we waited for the ambulance at my shop. She told me that her half-brother had been drunk and had gotten upset with her. But I'm afraid that's all she told me. The rest of the conversation turned to the types of animals I keep at my shop."

"She talked about the animals?" the detective asked with caution. Count D's pets were normally bad omens...

"Yes, she rather enjoyed their company," the count said without a hint of emotion. "She surprised me.. even with all the lies the people around her had fed her, she seemed to believe in accomplishing the impossible. That's why she told me about her half-brother; she had sincerely believed that she would live through her brother's wrath..."

Silence enraptured the two men, until the Chinese man finally said, noting the other man's down-set expression, "Why so sad, my dear officer? After all, this is a normal circumstance in this city, correct?"

"...yeah," muttered the blonde begrudgingly. "Just another cover-to-cover classic case, but... why the hell did she have to die? It just seems to me that that bastard of a sibling got his way." He blew out another long drag and grumbled, "...it may just be another damn file in the cabinet, yet... I only knew her for a minute, but..."

"I knew her for two hours - one spent reaching the stars, the second spent capturing the rain."

...and the rain just kept dripping.

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**The End - Reviews are appreciated!!**

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**A/N's:** Hai, I know it was vague. But that's how D tends to act. Vague as Chinatown. It's up your imagination to figure out what exactly D told her. 


End file.
